In the online world, content is still king. For marketers and businesses creating content for other business, content marketing is more than just buzz worthy, it’s a solution that can accomplish a wide array of business goals for clients.

Content creation in today’s social-media driven digital world needs to do more than actively capture and engage audiences; it needs to cut through the noise. The array of objectives for content creation can include building brand awareness, establishing thought leadership, lead generation, driving sales, and search engine optimization, among others.

Maybe, this is easier said than done. But with clear goals and a well-defined strategy, creating content – exceptional content – can accomplish all of these goals. Here are five elements a business can include when planning and implementing content for other businesses.

Targeted content.
Content that doesn't capture and engage your audience isn't the right content. Know the audience, and objectively determine what content satisfies their needs. Consider the objective, and think critically about what you need your content to accomplish (what reactions it will cause) given its target audience.

Choosing the right assets.
An established objective and target audience will lead directly to determining the format and structure of the content. Along with an editorial calendar that plans how and where the content is consumed, what formats (blogs, videos, podcasts, ebooks, newsletters, social) are used?

All about optimization.
Strategic content is optimized in two ways – for search engines and for lead generation. One of the biggest benefits of lots of content is SEO, as each piece of content (blogs, video, podcasts) gain traction in search engines. The other is that effectively optimized content will be positioned to generate business leads.

Offering real value.
Producing content that is truly valuable to an audience is the most effective way to cut through the noise. What makes it valuable? Apply what you learn to the content you continue to create. Content that educates, informs, offers industry opinions, advises, or reacts to news often brings value.

The end result.
What good is content creation if it isn’t driving results? Planning and implementing amazing content requires adaptability and the need for continuous improvement. Utilize statistics and user feedback to validate the value of the content. If the content is helping business - brand awareness, thought leadership, generating leads, driving sales – then it represents a successful content campaign.

The ways in which companies differentiate themselves in the digital world are changing. Those who fail to realize the potential for customer interaction and retention and then adapt are being left behind. To succeed in today’s digital marketplace, companies need a strategic model to take advantage of customer’s increased ability to engage, interact, and collaborate with each other as well as your organization.

The proliferation of mobile devices is the driving force in the shift to utilize digital customer experience strategies. The truth is that a company is no longer the sole motivator behind its corporate and brand messaging – it’s driven by consumers. In fact, consumers are now three times more likely to trust what a stranger online says about a product or service than what a company says about itself.

Regardless of the industry, customers’ relationships with businesses, and each other, have changed in the interactive economy. So where should companies start in implementing an effective digital customer experience strategy? How can they create multiple touch points across digital channels with empowered customers?

Empower your workforce.
Focus on your people, not the technology. With a digital strategy grounded firmly in the value of the brand, get employees engaged in customer interaction across the company in order to recognize and act on opportunities.

Describe and define the intended digital experience.
Your digital strategy should clearly describe how your touch points will meet customers’ needs and how your activities will differentiate from competitors to set you apart.

The right digital investments.
When it comes to digital channels, do not try to do it all. Set a clear strategy and prioritize investments in digital channels and interactions that fulfill brand promises.

Get personal with customers.
Engage with customers and become a valued source of content. Maximize the engagement by treating them as individuals and cultivating relationships with customers who have more choices than ever before.

Create brand advocates.
Take the time to listen to customers across digital channels, creating loyal and engaged advocates for your company who endorse you to their networks and beyond. According to TheGuardian.com, more than 70 percent of customers will spend more money with a company due to a history of quality service. 

For some, Google Analytics can be a bit like a foreign language. It’s difficult to know where to start. But if you run a small business or have a vested interest in managing a website, blog or brand, Google Analytics is more than an important tool.

It’s a tool you have to understand and utilize.

Google Analytics (GA) is a free online analytical tool that measures website performance. And even if you understand its importance, it is filled with so much data that it can be overwhelming  if you don’t understand what it is you’re looking for, how to find it and how to leverage it to your benefit.

Google Analytics generates detailed statistics about website audience, traffic sources, conversions and content trends. Here are a few of the more important basics:

Audience Engagement Metrics
These data sets help you understand who visited your site, and how they engaged once they visited.

Visits – The number of individual sessions initiated by all of the visitors to your site.

Unique Visitors – The number of unique, individual visitors.

Page views – Total number of times your site has been viewed.

Pages / Visit – The average number of pages viewed during one visit.

Avg. Visit Duration – The average length of time a visitor spends on your site within a specified period of time.

Bounce Rate – The percentage of single-page visits, usually people who visit your homepage and then leave the site.

% New Visits – The percentage of visitors that have not previously visited your website.

Traffic Sources
These metrics help understand how visitors reached your site and where they are coming from.

Search Keywords – Explains which search terms correspond with your website.

Referral Traffic Sources – Where traffic is coming from and measure the success of banner ads, guest blog posts or online press releases.

Social – Impact of social media activity on traffic by identifying the networks and content that generate the most engagement and activity.

Direct Traffic Landing Pages – Where visitors are landing when they visit your site.

Knowing these general concepts and basic terminology will help you understand the basic information within Google Analytics and the reports it can generate, giving you some context for the data analytics to help you evaluate the performance of your website.

Even if a photo isn’t worth exactly a thousand words, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be using imagery to promote your brand.

Marketers who embrace visual content are seeing incredible returns. While there are many ways to market, promote and publicize your brand, visual marketing should be an important component of your multi-platform campaigns as well as a constant in your overall marketing strategy.

Incorporating visual concepts into your marketing, advertising and digital campaigns will cut through the clutter and make them more appealing. After all, people are visual, and the visual sense plays a major part in receiving and conveying messages. Consider that 90 percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual (according to Zabisco) and 30 percent of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. Images provide a stronger draw than written content, resonate deeper, and reinforce your branding. And, best of all, they are shared easily everywhere online thanks to social media.

Visual content is increasingly becoming a powerful communications tool, and the most impactful way to convey your brand. It is also more popular than ever before online. Video is increasingly becoming a major percentage of online traffic, and the major social media platforms are also becoming more image-orientated. Just look at Facebook and Instagram, where the number of images generated reaches 2.5 billion per week alone.

While the need for professional, high-end images and visual design should be obvious in your print materials, advertising collateral, and on your website, here’s a look at eight ways to incorporate imagery into your digital and social platforms to promote your brand.

Blogs – A simple image in a blog post will draw readers and make it easier to pin on Pinterest and post on Facebook. Better yet, a simple video blog (vlog), photo blog, or an entire photo gallery post has a long shelf life and is great for sharing online.

Images as Infographics – Infographics are everywhere! They are a great way to draw attention since they are a combination of written and visual information. Infographics are a great marketing tool when you only have seconds to make an impact. They are sharable, trackable, and advocate for your brand.

YouTube – Not only are short videos ideal for sharing on many social media platforms, but YouTube alone is responsible for 17 percent of home internet traffic. Create a YouTube channel to share as part of your digital strategy; YouTube has 60 hours of video uploaded every minute and 1 billion active users each month.

Pinterest – The image-driven social media platform is growing everywhere, especially with any products that look good visually. Its referral traffic is more than the combined traffic of LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube. 21 percent of people with a Pinterest account have purchased something after seeing it.

Twitter – Every minute, Twitter users share nearly 700 YouTube videos, while 36 percent of all links shared on Twitter are images. Plus, there are 115 million active monthly users. What better way to get the word on your brand out?

Facebook – Photos and videos truly drive traffic on Facebook. Videos are shared 12 times more than links and text posts combined. Photos are liked twice as much as text updates.

Instagram – This is a perfect platform to connect with your audience and build brand engagement through visual storytelling. Think of it as an interactive and personal brand tour for your customers that has links to your other platforms.

Email newsletter – Your newsletter has a lot of competition in someone’s inbox, and only a few seconds to capture attention. A stunning photo, infographic, or short video can stand out to convey your message. Link to other platforms and represent your brand.

Many marketers understand the importance of email marketing as a key component to an overall marketing strategy. But when it comes down to utilizing best practices within email marketing, it seems as though many have room for improvement.

One of those best practices is segmentation, a technique that breaks down your general email list into tailored, customized content targeted at groups within your list.

It’s common knowledge for many marketers that segmentation produces better open and click rates. And it makes sense – the end result is sending potential customers relevant content (and no other content) that they care about. By narrowing the focus, customers are much more likely to find your campaigns and content more relevant, thus driving stronger results and ROI.

If you haven’t completely bought-in on email segmentation, there are several compelling factors to consider. Many businesses sell one product or service to many different types of customers. With several types of ideal customers, do you treat them all the same? Another reality is that within your customer list, your contacts are all at different points of the sales cycle with your company. And while your email and brand reputation will also improve, the final proof is in the statistics. According to data from the Lyris Annual Email Optimizer Report, the top three results of segmented email from marketers were higher open rates (39 percent), greater relevance (34 percent), and lower unsubscribe rates (28 percent).

Many email marketing programs will segment a list, but the options of how to slice down a list is essentially pretty endless. Here are some popular segments:

Geographic area – Create geographically-specific offers to tailor highly-targeted promotions toward locals in certain areas.

Purchase history – Consider creating a list to reward those who buy – or buy regularly – with special offers to strengthen relationships with your best customers.

Abandoned shopping orders – Reach out to those who abandoned digital shopping orders to offer special incentives to come back and complete an order.

Loyal and engaged users – Determine your top and most loyal customers and offer special “VIP” recognition to create a feeling of exclusivity.

Event invitations – Create special events – physical or digital – for customers in specific areas.

New subscribers – Segment by date to determine who are new customers and send special welcome offers.